The Food and Drug Administration on Monday announced it has expanded the “adult-only” approved list of medications for newly diagnosed Coronavirus infections. The agency now, for the first time, allows the use of genetically engineered flu vaccines in a hospital setting to prevent Coronavirus infections, similar to the use of shingles vaccines.
More than 1,000 adults have now been infected with Coronavirus, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though the virus rarely causes death, the disease is likely linked to a quarter of Coronavirus infections in Americans who have not been previously infected with the virus.
“We want to protect adults who may be at high risk for further infection from more severe disease,” said the CDC’s Dr. William Schaffner. “Genetically engineered flu vaccines are another excellent tool in the lab in spotting the early signs of an infection.”
The FDA approved up to 16 flu doses in hopes that Coronavirus-infected adults can get more than one dose of the drug.